Apple unveils new iPhone 5S with Touch ID fingerprint sensor

Apple’s new iPhone 5S – which has a fingerprint touch ID sensor and an even faster processor – will be go on sale in Australia on September 20.

Announced by Apple CEO Tim Cook at a special media event at the company’s Cupertino headquarters near San Francisco, the iPhone 5S might look like the previous model but there are plenty of changess under the shiny chassis.

Also unveiled today was a cheaper device The iPhone 5c that is available in five colours – green, blue, yellow, red and white.

The new hero feature of the iPhone 5S is no doubt the Touch ID sensor that is now part of the home button below the screen.

It can read a user’s fingerprint to unlock the device and even authorise purchases on iTunes, the App Store and the iBookstore.

Apple was also quick to point out that fingerprints would be stored in encrypted form locally on the device and will never be stored on Apple’s iCloud so you can rest assured the company is not setting up a fingerprint database.

The new iPhone 5S will be available in three colours – gold, silver and space gray – and has the same 4-inch screen size of the previous model.

Under the hood is an A7 processor that brings 64-bit processing to the smartphone for the first time.

The iPhone 5S has a Touch ID fingerprint sensor

The result is up to twice the speed of the previous processor and even smoother graphics.

Also on board is an all new M7 motion processor that can measure and collect data from the accelerometer and GPS receiver.

As a result developers will now be able to access even more information to allow them to create the next generation of health and fitness apps.

The Touch ID can use your fingerprint to unlock the device and authorise iTunes and App Store purchases

Another big improvement of the iPhone 5S is the camera. The resolution has remained at 8-megapixel but has a 15 per cent larger sensor.

When combined with the all-new A7 processor, the new iPhone 5S camera has faster auto-focus and image capture.

There’s also a new flash called True Tone that can solves problem of clashing colour temperatures in images and capture more natural colour.

The iPhone 5S also has an improved camera with new features like Slo Mo and Burst Mode

New camera features also include Burst mode and Slo Mo. In Slo Mo users can capture video at 120 frames per second and then select the parts you want to show in slow motion and the parts you want at normal speed.

What you won’t find aboard the iPhone 5S is the latest 802.11ac wi-fi standard which is unusual considering the recent MacBook Air and Time Capsule were upgraded to the faster wireless connection.

Instead the iPhone 5S has support for dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n wi-fi.

The iPhone 5S has a True Tone flash for capturing more natural colours

On the battery side Apple is saying there will be up to 40 hours of audio playback and 10 hours video playback along with 10 hours web browsing and talktime.

The pricing of the iPhone 5S is higher than last year’s iPhone 5 starting at $869 (16GB), $999 (32GB) and $1,129 (64GB).

The falling value of the Australian dollar might have something to do with this price increase.

Nick

Nick is an IT Professional who has been in the IT industry for over 15 years. A passion for technology & thirst for knowledge. A certified ITIL v3 professional, Nick is qualified & dedicated to delivering effective & efficient IT services with an Honest smile.